


Healthy Hobbies

by FemaleJaeger



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anxiety, Coping Mechanisms, Domestic Fluff, Feel-good, Fix-It, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Pre-Castle Destruction, Reader-Insert, Stress Relief, because what else do I write?, stress management
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 00:59:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17132027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FemaleJaeger/pseuds/FemaleJaeger
Summary: You learn how the paladins survive and thrive in space. Everyone is different in how they handle stress.





	Healthy Hobbies

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy this nice fic about nothing.

Defending the universe took a lot out of a person. Constant vigilance and never ending fighting wasn’t a healthy lifestyle for anyone. Some handled it better than others but really no one should live like that for extended periods of time, it just wasn’t sustainable.

Sometimes it was too much, too overwhelming, too much responsibility, too much death. Unfortunately, it was unavoidable and there was no way to prepare yourself because you never knew what the team was going to encounter.

From your perspective, the other members of the team seemed to be handling their roles pretty well and you didn’t want to burden them with your problems. You hadn’t planned on telling anyone.

Travel days were nice because they offered at least a small bit of rest. A ship can only travel so fast and, even with wormholes, getting to the other side of the universe took time. 

Lance had invited everyone to watch some of the Altean films he found. Everyone else had respectfully declined, opting to spend their time alone or doing something else. It ended up being just you and Lance with Pidge sitting in the back typing away on their laptop, not really paying attention to the movie or you two.  

Lance shrugged off the lack of people and actually looked pleased that at least you showed up. He waved you over and when you sat down next to him, he instantly wrapped an arm around your shoulder. He was probably just as happy to share in the personal touch as you were.

Maybe half way through the movie you leaned on Lance. You had no idea what the Alteans on the screen were saying half the time because you forgot to bring your earpiece from your helmet that translated alien speech. Instead of going to get it, you decided to enjoy the closeness with your friend. 

Physical contact was something you missed. No one wants to be that needy/annoying friend,  but if you were being honest, you needed hugs in your life . You quickly learned who to go to, Hunk and Lance became your hug dealers and you were an addict always coming back for more. They gave amazing hugs and who wouldn’t love every moment of that? It’s not like the rest of the team didn’t hug at all but their hugs were far and few between. It was easy to go up to Lance and wrap an arm around him or run up to Hunk and tackle him in a hug. The rest of the team just felt a bit more distant and kept themselves an arm’s length away, just out of reach.

Back on the couch, Lance leaned his head against yours. Without thinking you wrapped your arms around his middle. He laughed a little and asked, “You ok?”

You chose to give Lance a little squeeze instead of answering verbally.

“Hmm?” Lance hummed as he paused the movie and shifted so he could look at you, “What’s the matter?”

And that’s all it took to spill everything. Lance was excelling in his position with the Red Lion, a real jack of all trades kind of guy. Previously you had thought, how can a guy like that even remotely understand what you were feeling? But, Lance listened patiently, nodding along as you expressed how you were feeling and never interrupting. At the end of your rambling you apologized and backed up to hold yourself. You didn’t want to make Lance feel uncomfortable but you did feel better talking about it.

Lance pulled you back to his chest as he started talking, “I know how you feel ‘cause I feel exactly the same. I mean, months ago we were just students at the Galaxy Garrison then all of a sudden we’re the universe’s only hope. It’s a lot.”

You pulled back a little to look at him, “How do you deal with it?”

“Hmm…” Lance tried to look sagely as he continued, “I guess it’s different for everyone. For me, I like to try to keep up with my previous routines of skin care and yoga.”

“That sounds relaxing,” you commented.

“It is!” Lance smiled and offered, “You’re always welcome to join me!”

“Thanks, but I’m not as flexible as you. I’d love a nice moisturizing skin mask right about now though,” you sighed wistfully, your poor skin was so dehydrated from the vacuum of space.

“Well, let’s go!” Lance was already pulling you off the couch by your hand.

“What? Right now!?” You looked over to where Pidge was and noticed they were already gone. When had they left?

“Why not?” Lance laughed as he pulled you towards his room. “Wait!” He abruptly stopped and you stumbled, “I just ran out.”

“It’s ok,” You said, “Another time.”

“No, no, no,” Lance waved his free hand, “We just have to make more.” He started pulling you in a new direction.

“Make more?” You asked.

“Yeah, I use stuff found in the castle.”

Quickly. you both arrived at the castle’s kitchen, which wasn’t surprising. When you thought about it, a lot of face masks on Earth were made from food like honey, green tea, avocado, oatmeal, etc. What  _ was _ surprising was that Lance knew which alien food stuffs to grab. “How long did it take for you to learn what worked?”

“A while,” Lance laughed. “And it was a lot of trial and error.”

“Yeah, you should have seen when he broke out when he used the Altean equivalent of hot sauce,” Hunk interjected from the door.

“Hunk!” You jumped, surprised at his voice, but bound over to give him a hug.

Hunk laughed and returned the hug.

“How did I miss that?” You questioned.

“Because I hid in my room as much as possible that whole week,” Lance said, “I didn’t want anyone to see it.”

“Except me,” Hunk walked over to grab some ingredients of his own.

“Well yeah, but you’ve seen me worse than that,” Lance reminded.

Hunk paused, “the flu of 2153.”

“The flu of 2153,” Lance confirmed.

A moment passed between them before Hunk began to move. “What are you two up to?”

“Face masks!” Lance smiled dumping a few of his ingredients into a bowl for mixing.

“Nice!” Hunk smiled back.

“Do you want to join us?” You asked.

“No thanks, but you two have a blast,” Hunk smiled at you as he laid out the things he had collected.

“What are you going to do?” you asked.

“Bake,” Hunk said as he hummed a tune.

“It’s what he does to deal with,” Lance wildly waved his arms signifying “everything.”

Hunk snickered at Lance’s gesture then turned to you, “it’s true.” Something clicked in his head as he looked back over at Lance, “Everything alright? Wanna talk about anything?”

You assumed that Hunk knew this was how Lance de-stressed and offered to hear his friend out, also knowing Lance likes to talk through his issues. Lance shook his head no, “I’m good today thanks, how about you?” You took a moment to appreciate that these two men knew each other so well to recognize the other’s coping mechanisms and offered to be there for each other. They were truly great friends.

“I’m fine, just bored,” Hunk laughed. “What’s the special face mask occasion then?” 

Lance didn’t answer, not wanting to admit you were having a tough time. You respected that he didn’t divulge your secret. 

“Me,” you disclosed. You trusted Hunk, and knew he wouldn’t think less of you. In fact, if you hadn’t just blurted out everything to Lance then you probably would have told Hunk first.

Hunk looked over, clearly concerned, “Anything  _ you _ want to talk about?”

Even though you wanted to, words escaped you in that moment. 

“It’s ok if you don’t want to,” Hunk shrugged.

“No!” Is all you could get out at first, you shook your head and took a quick breath, “I do but I don’t know where to start,” you trailed off.

“It’s alright.” Hunk came over to you to place his hands on your shoulders. “I’ll listen to it all.”

You stuck out your bottom lip holding back tears of admiration as you jumped forward to wrap your arms around him in another hug. 

Hunk laughed and you heard it reverberated through his chest. You were sure you were in heaven for a second.

“No fair! I want in!” Lance tackled you both from the side. You and Hunk laughed as he wormed his head through both of your arms. 

~

Lance went back to mixing and Hunk started measuring his ingredients. You jumped up to sit on the counter and started with what you had told Lance.

“It’s a lot. It gets overwhelming,” you admitted.

Hunk nodded with his eyes closed.

“Sometimes it feels lonely,” you added sheepishly.

Lance nodded in understanding. 

Hunk didn’t say anything but he didn’t look happy that his two friends were feeling that way.

You continued, “Everyone feels kind of distant.”

Lance blinked, that wasn’t something you hadn’t told him. He tried not to sound hurt, “You know you can always come to me.”

“Yeah, me too,” Hunk volunteered.

“Yeah, I know,” you answered, “but you all are dealing with the same stuff if not more since you’re both paladins of Voltron.”

“Still, you shouldn’t let your mental health take a hit because of that,” Lance announced.

“True, and if Lance and I can’t help you, Shiro always says if there is ever anything we need or want to talk about, we can go to him,” Hunk reminded you of Shiro’s words.

You rolled your eyes, “He is probably the one who needs to talk to someone most of all but he’s so… intimidating?”

“He’s not intimidating,” Lance said.

“Yeah, ok, Lance you’re lying,” Hunk said, “You literally said that he was the other day.”

“Well that was then and this is now,” Lance dismissed, “I’m a different person now.”

You couldn’t help but giggle.

The two men stopped bickering and smiled to themselves. Lance asked, “Hunk do you mind if we stay here to do our masks while you bake?”

“Of course not,” he shook his head.

~

You asked Hunk what he was making and he dived into explaining every step of it. It was obvious the passion that he had for baking and he made it sound easy to understand but also scientific. You nodded, oo-ed and ah-ed as he performed various actions.

“Where did you learn to cook?” You asked as Lance finished whipping the mask into a foam.

“My mom at first but I liked it so much that I ended up teaching myself a lot,” Hunk smiled to himself as he watched the contents in the oven bubble and puff.

“Can I?” Lance asked pointing between the bowl and your face.

You nodded with a small smile and closed your eyes.

Lance giggled and started smoothing the bubbly cream on your left cheek. It was cool and cold.

You grimaced slightly.

“Are you ok?” Lance stopped.

“Yeah it’s just cold.”

“It’s supposed to be, it helps shrink your pores.” 

“So baking helps you de-stress?” You asked Hunk.

“Yeah I think so. At the very least it offers a distraction and a break from whatever I’m worried about and it gives me something to look forward to when things look bleak,” You watched a look cross over Hunk’s face that you had never seen before, but it was gone as soon as it came. “My mom always offered to ‘bake it better’ when I was hurting as a kid either physically or emotionally and it stuck with me.”

“I see where you get your puns from too,” Lance added.

“Haha, yeah,” Hunk replied, there was a pause and you knew Hunk had probably started thinking about his mom. It was tough being away from family and it was no secret Hunk missed his very much.

Lance tapped under your chin and you tilted your head up, he started applying the mask along your jawline.

When Lance was scooping more of the mask you changed the topic, “Lance, where did you pick up yoga?”

“Wasn’t it at the Garrison?” Hunk questioned.

“Yeah it was,” you could hear the smile in Lance’s voice.

“I didn’t know the Garrison offered yoga!?” you exclaimed.

“They didn’t,” Lance laughed, “I started taking a class off-base just for the hell of it.”

“If I remember correctly it was actually ‘for the chicks,’” Hunk added.

Lance stammered, “Ok, fine, yes, Hunk, at the time I wanted to meet some local ladies.” After a pause he added quietly to you, “Always living in the past this one.”

“I heard that,” Hunk said.

“And?” Lance antagonized. When Hunk didn’t respond, Lance continued, “I found out that I was actually really good at yoga and it helped me focus. There.” Lance finished applying the mask to your face, “you can open your eyes now.”

You followed his suggestion and saw how close he was to your face, you jumped back a bit.

Lance laughed as he jumped onto the counter next to you, “Hunk?”

Hunk was exchanging trays from the oven, “One second bud.” He placed the hot tray on a rack to cool. “Want me to do yours?”

Lance nodded with a big smile.

“Oh but alas, that was something the old me would have done, I’m a new person now, I’m living in the moment and not the past anymore,” Hunk dramatized his monologue with the back of his hand on his forehead and leaning against the counter.

You almost believed the pout on Lance’s face if it wasn’t for the upturned corners, “Please,” he pleaded.

“I guess so,” Hunk pretended it was the worst thing. Hunk carefully started to spread the mask and Lance sat happy as can be. Hunk clearly didn’t mind and based on his skill, he had done this many times before.

“Anyway,” Lance started, “After a couple of classes, I decided I wanted to do yoga after school but as you know, the Garrison doesn’t let cadets leave the base on weeknights. So the only solution was to petition the school to start a yoga club.”

“It was terrible,” Hunk groaned.

“Wait you did it too?” You asked Hunk.

“Only for this guy,” Hunk jerked a thumb at Lance.

Lance took that que to stick his tongue out.

Hunk had enough of his sass so he made Lance lick the mask spoon. 

Lance gagged and coughed. “Hunk!” He got off the counter to get water.

You watched in amazement as Hunk continued the story, “The school would only bring in a yoga instructor if there were at least five students in the club. Lance found three other people from our class to join but was having trouble finding a fourth and since I’m such a great friend,” Lance was gargling at the sink and shot Hunk a look that said, “Really dude? Look at me right now?” Hunk actively ignore him and finished, “I signed up so he could do yoga.”

“And for that, I thank you, friend,” Lance clapped Hunk on the back, hard. “But for this,” Lance pointed at the bowl with his other hand, “What the heck!?”

“You had it coming,” Hunk returned.

Lance narrowed his eyes at Hunk as he grabbed the bowl and finished his face mask around his mouth and chin.

“What did it taste like?” you asked curious what was sitting on your face.

“Like marshmallow fluff and,” Lance paused to think.

“That’s not so b-” You started but Lance interrupted.

“Mayo.” Lance nodded to himself, “Yup, marshmallow and mayo.”

You and Hunk frowned deeply, not wanting to imagine that combo.

“Are you sure you don’t want a face mask too, Hunk? There looks like there would be enough for another person,” you suggested.

“Nah,” Hunk turned around to shut off the oven and pull out the second tray, “but thanks.”

Just then, the kitchen door swished open.

You swiveled your head around with wide eyes, assuming you looked silly sitting on the counter with the face mask.

Shiro wasn’t paying you all any attention when he wandered in. Mainly he was looking down at the tablet in his hand as he asked, “What are we cooking today, Hunk? It smells good.”

“Muffins,” Hunk answered cheerily.

When Shiro finally looked up he was greeted by you and Lance in your face masks and he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Hi,” you said filling the new silence.

“Hi,” Shiro resumed slowly. “What’s?” He gestured to his own face in a circle.

“Face masks a la Lance,” Lance puffed his chest out proudly, “proven to rehydrate your skin and soul.”

“Nice tag line,” Hunk laughed.

“Thanks,” Lance answered smugly.

“Sounds nice,” Shiro commented with an easy smile as he grabbed a water, “I thought that you were going to watch a movie?”

“We were,” Lance began.

“And then Lance started bragging about how much better his skin was than the actor and one thing led to another,” You interjected hoping Lance would go along with this. You really didn’t want to bother Shiro who was obviously working on something even though you were all supposed to be taking breaks.

Lance gave you a knowing sidelong glance and said, “Yup.”

You mouthed the words, thank you at Lance when Shiro looked back down at the tablet.

He waved it off as he handed you the bowl. “What are you working on, Shiro?”

“Oh,” he looked surprised that Lance was interested, “nothing really. Coran showed me how to set the language on here and I found what I think is a book?” Shiro huffed a laugh.

“Cool!” You and Hunk said in unison then high-fived each other for it.

“How do you not know if it’s a book?” Lance asked rolling his eyes at you two.

“Well I think some of it gets lost in translation and then the plot is…” Shiro upturned his left hand so his palm was to the sky and shrugged that one shoulder in an “I don’t know” kind of fashion. “At the very least, it has a setting and characters, I think?”

You giggled at Shiro’s very lack luster review.

“So to unwind from work,” Lance said, “You do more work?”

“Well, I don’t think of this as work?” Shiro defended.

“But you’re reading?” Lance countered.

“You know, Lance,” Hunk pat him on the shoulder, “there are people that read for fun.”

“Read for fun?” Lance looked over at Shiro as if trying to confirm that was what was happening.

Shiro smiled and nodded his head.

“Sounds fake but okay,” Lance admitted.

Hunk and you exchanged a chuckle. Shiro joined in shortly too. 

Lance watched on with a smile as you each recovered from your giggle fits. “Shiro, did you want to do a face mask?” Lance asked.

“There’s enough for another person if you wanted,” You added looking down at the bowl in your hand giving it a little mix.

“What about Hunk?” Shiro asked immediately.

“I’m good, thanks,” Hunk declined.

“So, how about it?” Lance asked again.

“I shouldn’t, you should save it for yourself,” Shiro tried to decline.

“It’s easy enough to make,” Lance responded, “It’s no problem.”

“Oh ok,” Shiro tried to hide his eager smile.

Lance was delighted, “Ok! Come have a seat!” Lance pulled him over to sit on the counter. “Y/n, move, we have an important customer!”

You jumped down with a laugh, “Oh sorry, my bad.”

Shiro frowned, “Lance, if this is going to be a whole thing...”

“No, no, no, just hop up on the counter, relax,” Lance suggested with a pat on the edge of the counter next to where he just hopped onto.

“I’ll keep my feet on the ground if it’s all the same to you,” Shiro crossed his arms but leaned against the counter next to Lance.

Lance put up his arms defensively, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be pushy and standing is fine.” He turned to you, “You’re up.”

“Me?” You squeaked.

“Yup,” Lance returned, “Shiro is it ok if I hold your hair back?”

The older man nodded his consent and Lance swept the white locks back and held them there.You realized that you were going to be applying the face mask.

“Um Shiro, can you lean down a little,” you requested.

“Sure thing,” he complied.

“Also you should probably close your eyes because I’m not as good at doing this on other people.”

“Yeah, you don’t want that stuff in your eyes,” Hunk advised, “Right, Lance?”

“Definitely not, you also don’t want to get it in your mouth either,” He commented with a grimace.

Again, Hunk and you shared a smile. Hunk was currently inspecting his muffins(Which isn’t a euphemism even though it kind of sounds like one?)

Shiro obeyed with closed eyes and pursed lips.

You started as Lance had with you, and used the spoon to spread the cream on his left cheek. Without Lance’s experienced hand, it dribbled down a little, you caught it with the spoon. Somehow this was surprisingly frustrating and you wanted to abandon the spoon. “Is it alright if I use my hand?” You asked Shiro and Lance.

“Whatever is easiest for you,” Shiro said with his eyes still closed.

“You heard the man,” Lance smiled.

After scooping up a small amount you noticed how much easier this was going to be but also how intimate it felt being the one in charge. You looked over at Lance and he had a knowing look.

“What kind of muffins did you make?” Lance asked loudly over his shoulder to Hunk.

“They kind of taste like corn muffins?” Hunk guessed. “Definitely not bad, do you all want some?”

“Yes please!” Lance chirped.

“Me too, please!” You crooned.

“Me three, Hunk,” Shiro laughed but kept his eyes closed.

After finishing Shiro’s cheek down to his jaw, you started up his left temple and forehead.

“Make sure to get the T-zone evenly covered,” Lance remarked.

“Ok.”

“Is this ok on scar tissue?” Shiro asked.

You paused, you hadn’t considered that.

“I’m not sure,” Lance admitted, “but it is pretty gentle and it’s good for hydrating which should be ok.”

“Oh ok,” Shiro said.

“Do you want me to put it over your scar?” You asked to clarify.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Shiro consented.

“If it feels uncomfortable in any way let me know,” you finished his forehead and then started tenderly applying the mixture down his nose.

As you reached his scar, Shiro let out a quick, “ah!”

You jumped back, and let out your own, “ah” worried you had hurt him.

Shiro laughed, “I’m sorry, I was just kidding.” He looked pretty pleased with his own joke.

“Not nice,” you punctuated it with a light punch on Shiro’s chest.

Lance was in quiet shock for a few more seconds. “Shiro played a practical joke?”

You could feel the instant regret in Shiro as he tensed and let out a small sigh.

“I probably would have done the same to be honest,” you admitted with a shrug, “it was the perfect set up.”

“Shiro jokes all the time,” Hunk defended as well.

Shiro actually looked over at the yellow paladin amazed that he had been picking up on this.

“What? No way,” Lance still held Shiro’s hair back but he faced Hunk too.

“Yes way,” Hunk brought over the muffins on the cooling rack, “Sometimes it can be a bit obscure but as a fellow punny man, I appreciate it.” Hunk smiled as he handed Shiro a muffin.

“Thanks,” Shiro said in response for more than the muffin.

Hunk handed Lance his muffin with a nod.

Lance was speechless, how had he missed Shiro being funny? As he took a bite, he made a mental note to pay more attention.

Hunk went to hand you a muffin.

“Uh, I’ll take it later,” you showed your hand covered in white.

“Oh,” Shiro wolfed down the muffin and with a full mouth he closed his eyes and said, “please finish so you can eat.”

“It won’t take long, just your right cheek and then chin,” now that you were more comfortable in the motions and being in Shiro’s space, the last bit went by fast.

“How long should this stay on?” Shiro asked Lance.

“Until it is becomes a gel and then you peel it off.”

“Oh no,” you groaned, “is it one of the painful ones?” You asked cursing your low pain tolerance.

Hunk laughed, “No not at all, it basically slides off.”

You let out a relieved breath. “There, all done, Shiro.”

He immediately opened his eyes to see you still standing close.

You jumped out of his space and went to go wash your hands.

“Here,” Hunk untied his headband and handed it to Lance who returned a questioning look. “You can tie Shiro’s hair back so you don’t have to hold it while his mask gels.”

“Oh Hunk you didn’t have to,” Shiro started.

Hunk held up a hand, “It’s really ok.”

“Can I have a muffin now?” you asked shyly.

“Of course!” Hunk beamed and grabbed the rack, “Take your pick.”

“Thanks!” You looked over the lot hungrily. One muffin caught your gaze and you carefully took it.

“Good choice,” Hunk winked.

It smelled delightful. How long had it been since you smelled something that smelled like home? Hunk was right, it tasted somewhat like a corn muffin. It brought up some happy memories and it brought a tear to your eye as you ate.

“Y/n?” Lance jumped down.

Shiro tilted his head in your direction as Lance called out to you. He looked silly because Lance had tied Hunk’s headband like one would tie shoes and it made Shiro look like he had floppy bunny ears.

It made you laugh, “Haha, these are just really good, Hunk.”

Before Hunk could say anything, Lance had you in a sideways hug, careful not to mess up your mask, he asked quietly, “you ok?”

“Thank you,” you whispered, “but I’m okay, really.”

Lance let go but hovered for a second. 

“ _ Are _ you ok?” Shiro asked concerned.

“Yeah, yeah! Don’t worry about me,” You tried to dismiss Shiro’s concerns as quickly as possible.

Shiro frowned knowing when he wasn’t being told the truth.

Lance made a face and you felt like you had to say something, “I just told Lance that I’ve been feeling…” you struggled for a word to sum up everything you had been feeling.

“Anxious?” Hunk offered.

“Huh,” you hadn’t realized but agreed, “yeah, I guess that would be the word for it,” you rubbed your bottom lip in thought. That one word encompassed everything that you were feeling. You started to lose yourself in thought, thinking back to different times now in the frame of your issues being from anxiety. “Actually that makes a lot of sense.”

“We all feel it,” Hunk reassured.

“It’s nothing to make a big fuss about,” you waved a hand.

“It is something, though,” Lance stopped your waving hand, “you shouldn’t ignore how you feel, none of us should,” he admitted half to you and half to himself.

“Yeah but,” you started to fight, “what comes first should always be Voltron and our mission to save the universe, what choice do we really have? Sure it’s nice to wear a face mask and eat some sweets but at the end of the day, does it matter? Does your mental health really matter in comparison to the entire universe?”

Lance looked down at the ground.

Hunk looked at the oven.

It was clear they didn’t know what to say. Maybe they had similar thoughts, maybe this was news to them, either way, they remained silent.

Shiro sighed. “I understand how you feel.” He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly, “It’s a lot of responsibility and it’s scary.”

“I’m not scared!” You felt compelled to defend yourself.

Shiro opened his eyes and smiled slightly, “I’m not saying you are but any sane person would struggle to adjust.” He moved closer to where you and Lance were standing, “And to do our jobs of saving the universe, it will take each of us working at our best and that means that your mental and physical health matter. You matter.” Shiro placed a gentle hand on your shoulder.

Soaking in the touching moment, you remembered how absurd you all looked standing around in your face masks and you definitely hadn’t expected to get a pep talk from Shiro while he had bunny ears. The whole scene diffused the seriousness of the moment and you let out a laugh. “Sorry for laughing,” you apologized when Shiro looked at you concerned, “You’re exactly right but I can’t help it, you look silly with the bow and the face mask.”

“Bow?” Shiro asked, lifting his free hand to his head and gingerly touching Hunk’s hairband. He smiled and shook his head as his fingers found the knot.

You looked at Lance who said, “What? It looks fine!”

Everything felt lighter already. Sure there will be days sooner rather than later where the sinking feeling will be all consuming but just knowing you had people in your corner made you dread it a little less. Now that the three of them knew how you were feeling, you didn’t feel like you had anything to hide and it was freeing in a sense. Keith, Pidge, Allura and Coran may take some time to open up to but you now made a promise to yourself to tell them eventually. Even if they wouldn’t completely understand, it might help. 

With the affection swelling from inside your heart, you reached out and gave Shiro the sideways hug Lance had given you. Shiro wrapped an arm around you and gave you a warm squeeze. He didn't feel out of reach any more.

**Author's Note:**

> Season 8 wrecked me so I wrote this to feel better, I hope it does the same for you reading this!  
> ( ˘ ³˘)♥


End file.
